>Everyone, even people who aren't smart, can try hard and get better.
Yes, I agree. What I tried to convey is the importance of balance between hard work and a degree of fatalism.
You can't solve a lot of things with hard work, but many American elites I know are wired to think otherwise - until they start to fail classes in college or can't advance anywhere near as fast at their jobs. When life hits you hard, accepting things as-is and not trying to work even harder might prove to bring a happier outcome.
>School is so artificial; everyone is solving the same problems to which the teacher already knows the answers.
That actually wasn't my experience. I had a lot of fun in junior high, high school and college, and while there was an element of sycophancy, my education was largely intellectually honest, challenging and rewarding. I would say it was at the first job out of school where I learned the important skill of "just doing it because your superior told you to" to earn credibility and trust.
I think I partially agree, but would rephrase it as this: It's important to pick your battles. Promoting only innate talent can lead to lazy adults with unfulfilled potential. However, promoting only hard work can lead to depressed adults who keep wondering why more hard work isn't working.
The key is balance and part of growing up is recognizing where hard work should be focused on. Parents can help their kids with this by observing what they're good at. And it can also help teach an important life lesson which is knowing when to cut your losses and move on.
But this discussion ignores the third component of success which is opportunity (luck). Hard work and talent are useless without the chance to do something with it. It's important to teach this as well since without knowing this, you could have adults who are hard working and know what to focus on, but just wait for opportunity to come to them. Opportunity is a dice roll and you have to keep going out there and rolling that dice until you get a good one. And I think knowing this teaches humility as well which is important for social cohesion. Some people just get a lot of bad rolls and society should help in such circumstances.
Yes, I agree. What I tried to convey is the importance of balance between hard work and a degree of fatalism.
You can't solve a lot of things with hard work, but many American elites I know are wired to think otherwise - until they start to fail classes in college or can't advance anywhere near as fast at their jobs. When life hits you hard, accepting things as-is and not trying to work even harder might prove to bring a happier outcome.
>School is so artificial; everyone is solving the same problems to which the teacher already knows the answers.
That actually wasn't my experience. I had a lot of fun in junior high, high school and college, and while there was an element of sycophancy, my education was largely intellectually honest, challenging and rewarding. I would say it was at the first job out of school where I learned the important skill of "just doing it because your superior told you to" to earn credibility and trust.